WEBLINKS
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FACTS
| Pumpkin facts
A pumpkin is really a squash, and comes from the same family as the cucumber.
You can grow pumpkins all over the world - except in Antarctica!
Pumpkin carving was taken to the US by the Irish, who started carving turnips for their annual Samhain holiday. They soon found that pumpkins were easier to carve than turnips.
If your pumpkin lantern shrivels up, you can restore it by soaking it overnight in water to rehydrate it.
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 |  | It's that time of year again, there are leaves on the ground, mist and fog when it starts to get dark, the smell of smoke in the air and icy hands reaching over to grab your neck and............... ..aaaargh!
While you're carving your pumpkin or mixing a bloody Mary, imagine how scary it was for our ancestors!
It's believed that Halloween's roots lie in the fifth century BC and the Celtic festival Samhain - the end of summer.
October 31 was the final feast after the harvests and the world was though to have "died" for the winter, only to be resurrected the following spring. Pagans in the modern world still celebrate Samhain.
As the Celts believed in a circular calendar, 31 October was both the last day of summer and first day of winter and to them the day was "outside" the realms of time. This meant the living were closer to the dead than at any other time.
Ìý| Ìý |  | The dead were closer to the living on Samhain
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Samhain thus became a feast of the dead, a time to honour those who had passed into the other realm. People swapped stories of the dead and myths about ghosts and the undead.
Tradition also dictated that lights should be placed outside homes and on paths to guide spirits from the dark into the light. This is believed to be the beginning of the Jack O'Lantern tradition - hollowing out pumpkins and placing a candle inside.
As time progressed, 1 November was designated by the church as All Saints Day, Allhallowmas. This was a day to honour all saints (Hallows) without a designated day of their own.
The night before, Sanhaim, became Hallows' Eve - or Halloween. Depending on traditions in the area, this was a time when fairies and imps came out to play, when you could communicate with the dead or just reflect on lost loved ones.
ÌýLet us know what you're doing
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| Ìý |  | A spooky cemetery
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Whatever you believe, Halloween is now pretty much a time of fun and there are events happening around the area where you can join in the celebrations.
If you would like us to include your event, please let us know by emailing us via the link on the left.
Ìý| Ìý | | Click the image above to get the printable pumpkin carving template.
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Pumpkin carving template
Get your own printable pumpkin carving template by clicking the pumpkin image on the right.
Just press ctrl P to print off the image and then cut out the eyes, nose and mouth, stick it to the pumpkin and cut out the face. Voila!
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